Prejudice

When a person makes a prior judgment about something based on their preconceived ideas, it is called prejudice. Generalizing that all old people are useless, all fat kids are lazy, or all boys are better than girls, motivates discriminatory and unfair behavior towards a particular demographic. According to Oswalt (2010), people behaving with prejudice fail to judge situations on their merits and do not wait for situations to unfold and then react accordingly. Instead, they react based only on their ill-conceived ideas and behave in a prejudiced way.

The elderly are at particular risk of being viewed prejudicially. Ageism (prejudice aimed at older people in particular) is especially prevalent in society today (“Older people”, n.d.). Instead of being regarded for their wisdom and life experiences, the elderly are generally labeled as a financial burden on society, too slow, or physically dependent on others (“Older people”, n.d.) However, examples of notable celebrities such as Hugh Hefner and Aretha Franklin prove that age is only a number. At age of 87, Hugh Hefner is a millionaire several times over, and is responsible for what is described as an “extensive publishing, TV and internet empire” (“Hefner”, n.d.”). He remains physically active and is married to his third wife, nearly sixty years his junior (“Hefner”, n.d.). At the age of 72, Aretha Franklin is an accomplished Grammy-Award winning artist, who continues to perform in concerts and make other public appearances (“Franklin”, n.d.). Neither of these individuals may be reasonably classified as burdensome, slow or dependent. Further, while these are extreme examples of celebrity, there are many working and independent older people who remain active in society. It would be unfair to assume that they are anything less than that based on prejudice.

Being overweight presents many hardships for the obese, particularly for children. Society-at-large condemns fat people, and views being overweight as a character flaw. There is a widely held belief that people are fat, simply because they cannot regulate their food intake (Mendoza-Denton, 2012). Obese children are often picked last for sports and repeatedly made fun of by their peers. They are incorrectly dismissed as being flawed for their inability to maintain a healthy weight. However, scientists continue to research the underlying causes of obesity and have found otherwise. Recent studies have concluded that being overweight is not a “moral failing” but is instead caused by nutritional deficiencies and irregularities in insulin levels (Mendoza-Denton, 2012). Unfortunately, obese children are still ostracized from social circles who lack enough information to view these children objectively. Instead of being viewed as gluttons, they should be viewed as victims of a disease.

Lastly, sexism and gender bias permeate many areas of our culture. By and large, men are viewed as being more independent than women. They are perceived as more capable professionally than their female counterparts. Men are also generally regarded as being stronger and possessing greater physical stamina than women (“Gender prejudice”, n.d.). However, there are countless examples of many dependent, successful and physically capable women who may prove just as worthy and competent as men. Society is challenged to evaluate these women based on their abilities and accomplishments, instead of on preconceived expectations as to what women are capable of.

In making a rush to judgment about a person based on a given characteristic (such as age, weight or gender), we are behaving with prejudice. Generalizations made about an individual keep us from seeing that person for what they are. They also cause us to automatically discriminate against that person without having enough foundation to do so. Simply put, prejudice is wrong.

References

Aretha Franklin. (n.d.). Biography. Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/aretha-franklin-9301157

Gender prejudice. (2007, January 1). Prejudice in the Modern World Reference Library. Retrieved from http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-2831400017.html

Hugh Hefner. (n.d.). Biography. Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/hugh-hefner-9333521

Mendoza-Denton, R. (2012, July 10). Are we born racist? Psychology Today. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/are-we-born-racist/201207/prejudice-against-fat-people

Prejudice against older people. (n.d.). SOA Watch. Retrieved from http://www.soaw.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=633

Oswalt, A. (2010, June 22). Prejudice. Mental Help. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=38395&cn=1262